How to Craft a Successful, Competitive, Search-Friendly Title

The Most Important Single Component

In the realm of online content, your title is typically the most important component when it comes to determining whether your work gets readers or languishes in obscurity.

Most readers find your articles through search engines. If Hubs are not search friendly, they are not likely to get much (if any) search traffic (and therefore not much traffic at all).

To be search friendly, a title must be short and descriptive. We recommend four to ten words. Your title should also contain the types of short terms people might type into search engines like Google when conducting searches on a particular subject (e.g. "how to tie a bow tie" may result in a title like "3 Methods of Tying a Bow Tie").

To be competitive, a title must address a subject and keywords ("keywords" are the terms people type into search engines) that are not already extensively covered online. You can quickly check to see how extensively a subject is covered online by Googling it. If there are already a ton of great articles using your keywords, you may want to choose another subject. But if you think you can do better than the search results, write a Hub!

We shall explore these facets of high-potential titles below as well as information on:

A Note on Choosing Your Subject

Some topics are much less likely to succeed than others simply because there are already tons of detailed, satisfying results online. When you are choosing what to write about, it's a good idea to enter those terms into a search engine and have a look at the results that show up. Here are a few things to watch out for:

Choose another topic if:

There is an exact match to your keyword in the title of one of the first three (non ad) results (and the result is not dismal)

The current results answer the question posed by the query perfectly well

There are already a LOT of sites, articles, and videos on the subject

The query results in a lot of product results - your Hub is not likely to rank above them

The query results in a lot of location-based results (maps, local listings) - this means your Hub would be buried below them

The query results in a lot of branded results - it is hard for normal articles to compete with prestigious branded sites

You know you have found a good topic to write about when:

There are no exact matches for that keyword in the first three (non ad) results

A complete answer to the question posed by the search query must be cobbled together by visiting several results (i.e. no single top search result will cover the content entirely)

The Hub you plan on writing will be vastly superior to the current top results (in terms of quality, length, media used, etc).

Making a Short, Descriptive Title is Akin to Making Your Business Available in a Phone Book

Giving your Hub a clear and specific title is just like making your business easy to find in a phone book by putting it in the proper section. | Source

Making a Title Short and Descriptive

When crafting a title for a Hub, start by asking yourself:

If I were to conduct a search about the subject of this Hub, what would I type into Google?

What you are essentially asking yourself is what keyword you should incorporate into your title. Once you have an idea of the keywords you would like to incorporate into potential titles for a Hub, consider adding any additional words you might need to make the titles sound natural. Just be sure to:

Keep titles below 65 characters in length

Try to add additional words after the target keyword

Try checking what your title will look like in search results by using the SERP Preview Tool

Once you have a couple of titles in mind, it is time to run some competitive research.

Google Recommends...

Creating a title that is an accurate description of your Hub's content (fanciful or artsy titles may be appropriate for creative writing or poetry, but informational Hubs need titles that address the subject at hand)

Creating brief, descriptive, informative titles

Considering the target audience of your Hub and what words they would use when conducting searches on its subject (e.g. if you are writing a Hub about Reynaud's phenomenon for people who are not familiar with it, you should keep in mind that they're more likely to type things like "cold blue hands" into Google)

And remember, good titles are worth nothing if your Hub is not...

Easy to read

Fresh and unique

Clearly organized and broken into logical chunks

Backed up with compelling and useful content (this is what encourages people to stay on the page longer and share it with their friends)

To Reiterate Because It's SO Important: To Succeed Online, You Must Demonstrate Genuine Interest and Passion

As we discuss in our Learning Center Hub about succeeding in online content creation, one of the biggest factors determining the long-term success of a Hub (that has a search-friendly title and can beat the present competition) is the author's genuine interest or expertise in the subject.

Before deciding to create a Hub, even a Hub with a short, descriptive title that has low competition in terms of existing search results, ask yourself:

Am I passionate about this subject?

Do I have any unique expertise in this subject?

If you do not really care about the subject; if you do not find it interesting or it has not been a part of your life somehow, we recommend moving on to write about something you actually do feel passionate about.

The best Hubs are those written by people sharing a part of their real lives- problems they've solved, projects they've worked on, challenges they've overcome, subjects they've researched out of genuine interest, their work, their hobbies, their families, their vocations, their collections... you get the picture.

Hubs that are written by someone possessing genuine passion or expertise tend to be:

Detailed and in-depth

Full of original images and media

Reinforced with insider tips that aren't found elsewhere online

Made even more useful with links to appropriate obscure resources on the subject that may be hard to find

Hubs that are written by people with little firsthand experience or interest tend to be:

Short

Uninspired

Lacking original photos (instead filled with stock images or other images)

Full of fluff (filler text not providing any useful information)

Filled with information and advice that exists elsewhere online

It should therefore come as no surprise that Hubs written by people with passion and experience tend to do better.

Are you feeling truly inspired to write a Hub on this subject? If not... write about something else. | Source

Example: Writing a Hub on Mesothelioma

You hear that mesothelioma is a high-earning topic online

You think you can beat the competition (this is purely theoretical- in reality, the subject is TOTALLY exhausted online)

You ask yourself: "Am I passionate about this subject? Is this an area in which I have unique expertise?"

You realize the answer to those questions is a big resounding NO

You move on to write an article about G. I. Joe figurines, which you happen to love and collect, and are delighted to see how wildly successful it becomes

If You Don't Have Any Experience with Mesothelioma, Try a Different Topic

Sure, mesothelioma may be a high earner online, but chances are you don't bore people to death going on about it at parties. | Source

Additional Tools and Considerations

Some Hubbers like to use additional tools to help them get inspiration and ideas for titles. Here are some helpful internal and external tools that are likely to provide inspiration.

HubPages Title Development Tools

My Account > Stats: By looking at which of your Hubs are more successful, you can get a clearer grip on which titles do well and which titles are not so good (you might also discover certain subjects that do better than others). This can give you inspiration for future Hubs and future high-potential titles.

Hub Stats: By looking at statistics specific to a particular Hub, you can identify keywords that have lead to it. If you see a LOT of keywords that lead to one of your Hubs that are not super related to it, consider creating another Hub with a title that contains that keyword.

External Title Development Tools

The Google AdWords Keyword Planner: The Keyword Planner can provide some information on common terms people use when typing queries into Google and may offer inspiration. You will need to sign-in to your Google account to access the features.

Google Trends: This tool can give you an idea of whether a keyword has been seeing more or fewer searches over time.

Google Correlate: This feature, an offshoot of Google Trends, can help you find terms related to a particular keyword that might inspire new titles.

Examples of Great Titles

How to Teach a Young Man to Shave for the First Time by Denise Handlon

How to Coddle an Egg by Gordon Hamilton

How to Ask for a Job Transfer by Patty Inglish MS

Healthy Lunches for Preschoolers by RebekahElle

De-Skunking: Best Ways to Get Rid of Skunk Odor by Akirchner

Where is the Best Place to Live Off the Grid by Brie Hoffman

Tips for Processing Deer and Aging Deer Meat with Videos by Habee

Now That You Have Your Title, Establish Your Niche!

If you have a particular expertise in a certain area, create multiple Hubs around this topic, and establish your HubPages account as the go-to place for information on it. Specific niche topics that aren't extensively covered online can be a boon! When developing a niche, we recommend:

Choosing a topic in which you are an expert (don't forget to tell your readers early on in your Hub why you are qualified to write about the topic so they trust your work)

Creating an appropriate About the Author Bio for your niche and placing it on the Hubs that fall into that niche.

Updating your Hubs and continuing to add to your collection over time (many Hubbers will follow your HubPages Account and will be thrilled to read new information in your niche— plus, maintaining your Hubs tells your readers that you are on the cutting edge of new developments in your subject)

Major Takeaways in Creating a Great Title

Create titles that contain terms people would use when conducting searches online

Create titles that are short (four to ten words) and descriptive

Research your title (and check the competition for your subject) before committing- it might be so extensively covered online that even an excellent Hub would not have a chance

Feel free to use additional tools (such as Google Trends, etc.), but do not get bogged down with SEO techniques. Remember: successful articles are created for people, not search engines.

Good titles MUST be backed up with equally useful, interesting, and unique content (more on that can be found in our Stellar Hub guide)

Bonus Tip!

You can always try changing your title/keywords if your Hub isn't getting as much traffic as you hoped. It's never too late to give your Hubs killer titles. Keep in mind that building traffic takes time, so we recommend giving each title 6 months to a year before trying something new.

A Note on Creating Titles for Social Media

While these tips are perfect for creating a Hub that is easy for your readers to find in search engines, some Hubs might have topics that are more suitable for social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc). Here are the types of content that tend to have more social potential: